Page 33 of Property of Anchor

“You sure she can keep her mouth shut?”Piney asked.His tone made my skin crawl.

Anchor didn’t hesitate.“She’s not saying a word.Right?”he asked, turning to me.

I looked between him, Piney, and the bodies on the table.

I wasn’t an idiot.

“I won’t say anything,” I whispered.“I promise.”

I looked back at the bodies.

I didn’t want to end up like them.

Chapter Thirteen

Anchor

I walked Pearl up the winding trail back toward the cabins.I hadn’t let go of her hand the entire way.

“You okay?”I finally asked, my voice low.

She nodded slowly.“I don’t think I’m ever going to be okay again.”

That gut-punched me harder than I expected.“I didn’t want you caught up in this, doll.You were supposed to paint some walls, maybe have a little fun, and go home.”

She let out a shaky breath.“Yeah, well.Welcome to Skull Island, right?”

I managed a dry chuckle.She had guts.I’d give her that.

The cabins came into view, and her windows glowed faintly with warm light.Bernice’s was dark.Pearl’s porch light was on, casting a soft yellow arc onto the steps.The peacefulness of it felt like a goddamn lie after what we’d just seen.

I didn’t want to let her go yet.I didn’t want her sleeping alone, with her head full of dead bodies and club secrets.

But I also knew I wasn’t good at comfort.

Still, I hesitated when we reached her steps.She stopped, looked up at me.

“I can’t tell if I should be afraid of you,” she whispered.

I stared at her.“You’re not.”

“How do you know?”

“Because if I meant you harm, you’d already be gone, Pearl.”

She sucked in a sharp breath.I regretted saying it the second it came out.

“Shit,” I muttered.“That didn’t come out right.”

“No,” she said quietly, “it didn’t.But I get it.”

She turned to go inside, and I didn’t stop her.

I should’ve gone back to the clubhouse, but I didn’t.

I walked the perimeter of the cabins twice, then made my way to the lake and sat down on the old bench near the shore.The wind blew steady off the water, cool and damp.The trees whispered in the dark.

Something was wrong.More wrong than just two dead bodies.Someone was trying to send a message, and I had no fucking idea who it was or why.

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